Researchers discover "molecular emergency brake"
in charge of regulating self-digestion
Times of distress literally eat away at the core of starving
cells: They start to digest their own parts and recycle them for metabolic
purposes. This process – called autophagy – also plays a role in immune
defense. In that context, however, the digestive machinery is switched on for
an entirely different purpose: the elimination of pathogens that have invaded
the body. Now, Prof. Ingo Schmitz at the Helmholtz Centre for Infection
Research (HZI) in Braunschweig, Germany, together with a team of researchers,
has discovered that a "molecular brake" is in charge of regulating
autophagy to keep it from getting out of control. They published their findings
in the scientific journal, Cell Death & Differentiation.